


Love Letters

by KarkatVantabulous



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Ficlet, Love Letters, M/M, Oneshot, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 06:31:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13094406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarkatVantabulous/pseuds/KarkatVantabulous
Summary: The age-old Rito job of delivering letters throughout Hyrule is one that Revali has never particularly enjoyed but it gives him an excellent cover story to deliver his anonymous own love letters to Link!





	Love Letters

The Rito of old were the ones who began the very convenient postal service. Depending on where in the kingdom you where and where you wanted your letter or package delivered to, there was a certain amount of rupees one had to pay. If you wanted whatever you were sending delivered even sooner than the estimated time, that cost extra. This postal service was carried on by the Rito for thousands of years to come. The Rito Village prided itself in its excellent postal service, it was a great source of income and a lovely way to remember their ancestors. However not everyone in the Rito Village was willing to go flying around the kingdom to deliver a letter. Which is why Link was shocked when Revali gracefully landed in front of him and shoved a letter in the Hylian's face.

_"Well?"_  Revali snapped, pushing the letter closer to him. "Are you going to take it or not?" Link hesitated but he did eventually reach a hand up and take the letter. "Finally. I was afraid I would end up missing my own scheduled practice because you decided to waste my time." The Rito Champion turned back around and extended his wings, before he could even summon winds to push him up into the sky, Link tapped his shoulder.

_"Who is this from?"_  Link signed, letter placed safely under his arm.  _"There's no name or anything."_  Revali rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance.

"How in Hylia's name should I know? I was only given the letter by someone who actually works in the postal service." The Rito Champion grumbled and rubbed his temple. "They can't even do their jobs correctly, making me deliver this letter to you just because we happen to be in the same place. It's demeaning." Link hummed in response and examined the letter a second longer before deciding to tear the thing open.

"Well!" Revali said rather loudly, causing Link to stop what he was doing and look up at him, which was his intention of course. He had to distract Link and stopped him from opening up the mysterious letter in front of him. "I best be off, I have to go improve my already perfect skills." The Hylian nodded and watched as his Rito friend (or perhaps acquaintance would be a better word) soared up into the sky and out of sight.

Link looked back down to the half-opened letter in his hands. He supposed now was a good a time as any, he had a moment or two before Urbosa finished up whatever private conversation she was having with Zelda. Link tore the rest of the envelope open and pulled the piece of paper out, reading its contents.

_"Often times when I see you, I see a marvelously fierce beast. A Divine Beast, if I may be so bold. The way you wield that sword of legend, the graceful dodges, the skillful slashes. They way you fight almost doesn't seem like you're fighting. The way you maneuver yourself around an enemy and expertly take them down with such a beautiful swing from your sword...it's like a dance I could watch every day without ever feeling any less amazed. Your form, your technique, impeccable._

_I'm finding it rather difficult to keep my eyes off of you when I happen to pass by while you're training. You truly are a breathtaking sight."_

-

_"Can you help me?"_  Link had the sentence already written on a piece of paper. Sign language wasn't exactly something everyone in the kingdom knew.

"Of course, hero! What can I do for you?" Link smiled and quickly turned the paper around to reveal another sentence. "Hm,  _'Can you tell me who sent a letter to me around last week?'._   Sure! Give me a second!" The helpful Rito worker hummed as she walked behind her counter and pushed a rather large stack of letters to the side. Link rocked back and forth on his heels, watching the her as she pulled out a rather large book and began flipping through the pages. "Hm. Well I'm sorry to say this but it looks like no one has sent anything to you. At least it ain't in our records! So sorry."

Damn.

Link thanked her anyway and apologised for interrupting her in the middle of work. He walked out feeling more confused than before! That letter that was given to him. He had to find out who it was from.

Link pulled the thing out again and reread it for what was possibly the billionth time. His cheeks flushed slightly as his eyes scanned the words, hoping to find some hidden clue as who the sender was. As suspected, he found nothing. However he did have a warm, fuzzy feeling on the inside and a wide smile plastered on his face. Those were just clues that pointed to his obvious happiness. So what, the love letter made him happy. The way this person described him...it was theatrical. Beautiful. Link had begun to see his fighting in a new light. During his training sessions he tried extra hard, hoping that perhaps his secret admirer would see him and maybe he would see his secret admirer. They did say it was hard to keep their eyes off of Link after all.

The winds around the Rito Village changed slightly, moving to Revali's will. A moment later and the Champion landed gracefully on the landing just above Link's head. Now was his chance to, hopefully, gather some kind of information.

"Wait!" Link calles out the single phrase as quickly ran up the twisting staircase. Yes, Link stays quiet for the most part, however there are times (like this one) where speaking is inevitable.

Link skidded to a halt just in front of the landing where the Champion of Vah Medoh was waiting patiently. Revali looked Link up and down and noticed a certain letter clutched in his hand.

"What is it you need of me? I'm a very busy Rito you know. I just got back from a rigorous training and would like a moment to rest before the princess begins pestering me about my progress with the Divine Beast." Link nodded quickly and put his hands up before beginning to sign. Out of the goodness in their hearts the other Champions decided to learn sign language so they could be able to communicate with Link better, so thankfully this conversation wouldn't be too much hassle.

_"I just need to know who sent me that letter."_  Link held up the love letter and looked desperately at Revali.

"Like I've said countless times in the past, " The Rito sighed, "I'm no postal worker. I don't know who sent that to you. I was simply given it because I happened to be going where you were." Link's face fell. "I'll give you a clue though. Whoever sent you that is the same person that is sending you this." Revali reached into the pouch he had strapped onto his armor and pulled out yet another letter. Link practically tore the thing out of the Champion's wing. "So will you stop pestering me now? Like I said, I'm tired." The annoyed Champion began walking down the many stairs, heading towards his own home. Link followed him.

"What in Hylia's name are you following me for now? I gave you the letter, what else do you want?" Link didn't respond, he was too preoccupied with tearing open the envelope. Revali sighed and decided it was best to ignore him. Perhaps Link was just trying to leave the village? Goddess, Revali hoped so. He couldn't have Link read that thing near him, he wasn't sure he could keep his secret hidden if he saw Link's reaction.

Sadly, Link wasn't just trying to leave the village. He had followed Revali down the many steps and across a wooden bridge to a rock pillar (that was somewhat separated from the rest of the village) to Revali's home. Oh Hylia, this was going to be difficult for poor Revali.

The Champion set his infamous bow down and began sorting the remainder of his arrows. On the outside he may have seemed cool, collected, calm, but on the inside he was screeching his head off and praying to the Goddesses that Link would just leave. He couldn't handle Link reading the love letter Revali wrote to him while he was standing  _right in front of him._

"Heh." Revali whipped around to face the blushing mess that was Link. He was biting his lower lip, trying his best to not let the smile escape but his attempts were futile. Revali's heart skipped a bit. Now he had to stop himself from smiling.

"What's so amusing, eh? It's just a stupid letter." The Rito succeeded in hiding whatever fear or excitement he felt and played it cool.

_"It's a love letter."_  Link finally signed. The red in his cheeks had faded away to pink and he looked at Revali with a smile as bright as the sun's. Revali silently thanked Hylia for making the Rito unable to blush.  _"It's quite possibly the greatest thing I've ever read. I have to find whoever sent this..."_ Before the Hylian Champion could sign anything else, Revali was already pushing past him. He announced he had some business to attend to and quickly flew off, leaving Link alone in Revali's house.

The Hylian sighed. He should've assumed Revali would be less than willing to help poor Link find the one person that made me feel...good. Well, whatever. Link shrugged, smile returning to his face as he reread the new letter.

_"Every morning I wake up, sun light shining on my face and blinding my sleep infested eyes. Every day I drag myself out of bed and force myself to start a new and exhausting day. I feel miserable, cold, tired. However that all changes upon seeing you. Everyday I get the privilege of seeing you. My heart skips a beat whenever you happen to look in my direction, I always thank Hylia that you can never see my embarrassingly lovestruck face. Every day I am filled with a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever you speak to me. Every day I am reminded that perhaps my days aren't so miserable if I get to see you. Your very existence is reason enough for me to smile, it's enough to be able to admire your beauty from afar but then you go and have the audacity to saunter over to me and grace me with your very presence. If I had courage like you I would have confessed long ago and wouldn't be spending my time scribbling out these silly letters._

_Ah well, at least I'm able to admire you from afar, safely hidden behind behind pieces of paper and anonymity."_

Oh goddess, Link's face was red again.

-

The sun had set hours ago and yet the Champion's were just heading into the Castle. There were times when it was far too late for any of them to even attempt to venture back to their respective homes, so they would stay the night in Hyrule Castle.

Urbosa was holding onto a half-asleep Mipha, guiding her through the long hallways of the Castle. Daruk carried all their weapons, he was the least tired of them all. And Revali stayed towards the back of the ground. His wings were practically dragging on the floor, he felt as if he was about to collapse.

Someone lightly tapped on his feathery shoulder.

The Rito turned around to face Link. For a second- just a second- his expression softened into the smallest of smiles, but then he caught himself and his face reverted to the look of sheer annoyance.

Neither said anything (not that Link ever really said anything), and just stared at one another for a moment. Revali was too tired to question the silent Hylian so he decided to wait it out. The Hylian in question reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. He signed out a request to Revali: deliver the letter to whomever was sending him those love letters when he returns to the Rito Village tomorrow. Revali's heart practically stopped. Was Link really going to respond to his "secret admirer"? Was this a love letter back or maybe a letter stating that he wishes for these anonymous proclamations of love to stop? Oh Hylia, Revali has to use all his will power to not tear the thing open now.

He kept his cool, as always, and sighed, rolling his eyes. He plucked the letter out of Link's small hands and gently placed it into a his pouch. He agreed but told Link to remember he wasn't a postal worker, he'd only do it the one time. Link smiled and thanked his friend, giving Revali some recently cooked spicy Salmon as a thanks. The two parted ways, Revali rushing to his room.

His wingtips moved to the envelope's seal, just about to tear the thing open, when he stopped himself. He couldn't have Link somehow catch him reading the letter. He had to keep his secret a secret after all!

Revali took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. He had to calm down, he had to be patient. He would go home to the Rito Village tomorrow and open up the letter in the safety and comfort of his home. Yes, that's what he would do. Another deep breath and Revali slowly began taking all the heavy armor off of his tired body. After a good night's rest he would fly back home and see what exactly was in the letter. All would be fine.

-

Early the next morning, the four Champions bade their farewells and headed to their respective homes. Mipha made a grand show of diving into the moat surrounding the castle that eventually merged with a river that flowed all the way up to the Zora's Domain. Revali made a grand show of using his legendary move, Revali's Gale, to soar up into the brilliantly blue sky and swiftly fly away. Urbosa and Daruk were left to climb into the carriages provided by Hyrule Castle and make the long trip home.

Revali flew a bit faster than normal today, he was impatient and wanted to know what the letter said as soon as possible. Thanks to his impatience, however, the Rito Champion managed to get back home no later than midday. He briefly patted himself on the back and made a quick stop by the Slippery Falcon to buy himself a treat for doing an amazing job at flying. While browsing the many food options there, Revali thought he saw a hylian that looked an awful lot like Link. He did a double take only to discover that there was no one there. He shrugged, believing his nerves were getting the best of him and causing him to see Link everywhere he went.

Now that he was in the comfort and safety of his own home and his victory snack was ready to go, Revali tore off the seal that stood between him and the letter. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes and attempting to calm his nerves, before he began reading the response.

_"I would like to start this off by saying one thing: Thank you. I'm not a knight of many words, obviously, but this letter will be an exception._

_I've received two love letters from you so far. Both of them amazing, both of them making me feel amazing, both of them making my desire to meet you stronger. I want to get to know the person that makes me smile, makes me feel like a person worthy of the title that I have. Or more, a person worthy of admiration. I want to meet the person that makes me feel feel warm when all work I do is so cold. I want to meet the person that makes me feel like I've been blessed by Hylia herself and make you feel the exact same way._

_I know I may not know who you are at the moment, and I may not know who you are at all!, but that isn't stopping me from wanting to meet you. I'd like to at least get to know the wonderful person behind this anonymous love letters. And who knows, perhaps we'll move past love letters into something a bit more._

_I eagerly await your reply. With Love,_

_Link"_

Revali was doomed.

If the flustered Rito wasn't so busy freaking out over such a lovely letter perhaps he would have been able to immediately begin his anonymous response. And perhaps if Revali wasn't so busy loudly scolding himself in an attempt to calm himself down, he would have noticed the hylian champion struggling to keep his grip on the small ledge of a rock pillar close by (but not too close!) with an old telescope he had snagged from the castle.

- 

"Here." Revali muttered early one morning as the Champion's gathered around the door of Hyrule Castle's Ancient Tech Lab. They were to gather more information on the four Divine Beasts they were to pilot. Zelda accompanied them because of her obvious curiosity. "I don't see why you don't just get an actual postal worker to deliver this for you- this is overlapping the precious time I set aside to strengthen my bond with Vah Medoh." Revali crossed his arms and shot a glare down to the hylian champion. Link simply smiled and signed a quick thank you before returning to Zelda's side.

 Later that day, when Zelda had to go take care of plans to visit the Spring of Courage and the Champions followed Purah around to learn interesting tidbits and helpful tip, Link found a spare moment to read the response letter. 

_"My my, Mr.Hero, I must say I was surprised upon reading your letter. Never in all my time silently admiring you and pouring out my feelings on paper did I imagine you would respond. To be quite honest, I half expected this letter to be one saying that you already had someone in mind or you were simply too busy to even think about any sort of relationship outside of the professional ones you have._

_I admit, the letter you sent me in response caused an avalanche of emotions within me. I did not expect you to be so eager to meet me! And while I would move the sun and the moon to meet you and get to know you, I feel it is best we don't meet. Not for a while at least. I believe it would be best for you if I were to keep my identity a secret seeing as how you're working on defeating the evil that has threatened Hyrule for centuries. However it warms my heart to know that you hold the words I write close to your heart. Although we cannot meet I will continue to lavish you and I will make sure that not a day goes by where a smile doesn't grace your face._

_Such a lovely and bright smile deserves to be seen by everyone, however I must confess that I would love to see a smile of yours that is exclusively for me."_

Link smiled warmly. His heart skipped a beat as he reread the whole thing.

It was funny, he always believed Revali loathed Link and yet here Revali was, secretly writing exchanging anonymous love letters with Link. It was quite a turn of events.

Link pocketed the letter as Zelda stood up from her chair and began hurriedly walking out of Hyrule Castle's library, muttering something about examining the notes she took earlier in the day. They were heading back to her study, Link saw this as the perfect opportunity to write his response letter.

In situations like these, where you find out someone who supposedly hates you is writing anonymous love letters to you, most people would reject the person and not give the situation another thought. Link, however, was different. He couldn't exactly put it into words but for some strange reason he felt like perhaps Revali was a bit different than what he painted himself to be. Yes, Revali was still going to be the same prideful jerk he always was but perhaps there was something more to him than that. Maybe that's why Link decided to continue exchanging letters, maybe that's why Link believed Revali deserved a chance.

- 

The two of them swapped letters for a while, each one had a growing stack of love letters steadily growing. The whole time Revali didn't know that Link had already discovered his secret. Each time Link would hand a new letter for Revali to "deliver", Revali would groan and roll his eyes and claim he wasn't going to do this forever. Link would just pat Revalis's shoulder and smile. Damn that smile, it was perhaps Revali's only weakness.

Things seemed to be going smoothly for the Rito Champion. His bond with Vah Medoh was rapidly getting stronger, his fighting skills were improving, his friendships with the other Champions were growing, and he was flirting with Link (and Link was flirting with him too). For a while it felt like Revali had reached the point in his life where he was happiest. He was on top of the world and nothing could bring him down.

_"Here you go."_ Link signed before handing Revali yet another love letter. The Hylian was smiling widely but even with that bright smile plastered on his normally stoic face, there was a hint of nervousness. This only made Revali nervous. He played it cool, as always, and sighed. After stating for the umpteenth time that he was not Link's personal carrier pigeon, he pocketed the letter and returned his attention to Impa and Purah explaining some complicated control systems that the Divine Beasts held. 

Before the day ended, Zelda broke apart from the group and returned to her study. More preparations had to be made for future trips to the Spring of Power. When Link assured she was safely inside, he himself slipped away. When the princess was in the castle Link was allowed to do as he pleased, she had an entire army to protect her if anything happened. Link silently thanked the goddesses for their influence on the King and giving him a bit of wiggle room. He was hoping to get to the Rito Village before Revali, he wanted to surprise his secret admirer. 

With everything ready, Link climbed onto his horse and began riding toward the Tabantha Region. He had time to get at least a bit of a head start, Purah and Impa were ones to make sure they gave  _very_  thorough explanations. 

A couple of hours later and the Champions were dismissed from their lesson on the different Divine Beast controls. Revali had a migraine from hearing the Sheikah sisters talk for so long, and at certain points argue, and all he wanted to do was get home. He bade his farewells to his friends and soared up into the evening sky. He sighed, he would get home well after sunset.

His flight was peaceful, mostly because his mind was too busy on Link and the new letter to even think about complaining how tired he was. Finally, he landed gracefully on a platform in the Rito Village. He let out a tired sigh and began trudging down the many steps to get to his home. He heard footsteps behind him but when Revali turned around he only discovered a young Rito boy waving awkwardly at him and standing in front of an unusually tall potted plant. Revali blinked, waved back, and continued making his way to his home. How strange, what was that kid doing awake so late in the night?

When he had at last set foot in his own home, he stripped himself of his armor and flopped onto his desk chair. The letter was then pulled out and placed neatly on the desk in front of him. His wingtips brushed over the seal that closed the envelope before he tore the letter open. 

_"How long has it been since we first started talking like this? In secret love letters? My stacks of letters seems like its a mile high! And yet, even when we agreed that it was probably best for us not to meet and I tried to brush off my undying desire to meet you, it doesn't change the fact that I'm stubborn and curious._

_We have spent our time talking to each other and getting to know each other. We have confided in each other. We became friends even when the true intention behind all of this was to confess feelings of love. Throughout this time I can say without hesitation or doubt that you are most definitely the person for me. You may believe other wise but trust me when I say that there is no one for me other than you._

_You may paint yourself to be an arrogant jerk that cares for no one but himself, you may trick people into believing that you despise me, you may claim that your sullen attitude is who you are but thanks to these past few exchanges between the two of us, I can finally see you for who you really are. And honestly, I wouldn't want anyone who wasn't you. You with your pride and arrogance and ego the size of Vah Medoh, you with your sweet words and soothing eyes and loving glances you think I don't see. You, Revali."_

Revali let out a noise that sounded like a cat being strangled. His feathers were fluffing up slightly and his wings were shaking. Behind him, he heard someone clear their throat. He immediately  turned around to discover Link, awkwardly standing in the door frame. The Hylian was blushing like crazy, trying his best to look at Revali but his eyes kept failing him and quickly scouted for something else to look at.

They stood there in silence for a moment before Link handed Revali a bundle of arrows that glowed blue. With shaky hands, he began signing.

_"I figured flowers wouldn't do you justice. These are new arrows that Robbie has created...they're supposed to be perfect for battling ancient enemies and they can kill any monster instantly."_ Link smiled and waited for the Rito to respond.

"Y-Yes," Revali nodded, looking down at the arrows then back to Link, "Thank you. These are...lovely." More silence filled the space between them. Link was now rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Revali." Hylia, Link's voice was disgusting. Anyone would cringe at hearing that monstrosity, but not Revali. No, not him. Right now that grossly hoarse was the best thing Revali had heard. Link cleared his throat again and attempted to say something else before switching back to sign language.  _"I want to ask something."_  Revali nodded. He knew what was coming, anyone who was in their particular situation could piece together what would happen next. Nonetheless, Revali's heart was still racing and his feathers were still fluffing up.

"Yes, yes go ahead. Ask me...ask me anything you'd like...Link." They locked eyes and Revali swore he could hear Link's heartbeat as well.

"I was wondering if maybe...we could move past love letters into something...more. Like we talked about." Link's cheeks had gone completely red. "Maybe you'd be interested in...perhaps making our relationship less professional and more...romantic?"

Revali let out a shaky breath, a soft smile appearing on his usually annoyed face. He nodded and looked at Link with gentle eyes before responding;

"Yes, I'd like that very much."


End file.
